Quick Take for Wednesday, December 2, 2009 (Fast Affiliate Live + Same Day Ratings)

Growing Week to Week by 8% in Viewers and by 18% in Adults 18-49, ABC Freshman "The Middle" Outdraws Fox's Veteran "So You Think You Can Dance"

With its Highest-Ever Repeat Numbers, ABC's "Modern Family" Retains Nearly All Of its Week-Ago Original Telecast and is No. 2 in its Slot with Key Adults and Men

Similarly to its Lead-in, a Repeat "Cougar Town" Delivers Impressive Retention of Its Week-Earlier Original Airing, Holding 95% in Both Viewers and Adults 18-49

"Eastwick" Jumps Week to Week by 17% in Viewers and by 18% in Adults 18-49

"The Middle" (8:30-9:00 p.m.)Building on its lead-in at 8:30 p.m. (a "Modern Family" repeat) against holiday specials on NBC ("Christmas in Rockefeller Center") and CBS ("Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer") and an original "So You Think You Dance" on Fox, ABC's "The Middle" was up week to week by 8% in Total Viewers (6.4 million vs. 5.9 million) and by 18% in Adults 18-49 (2.0/6 vs. 1.7/6). The ABC freshman comedy drew more overall viewers than Fox's veteran "Dance" (6.2 million) and finished No. 2 in its half-hour with Adults 25-54 (2.6/6) and Men 18-49 (1.7/5).

"Modern Family" (9:00-9:30 p.m.)Posting its highest-ever repeat numbers, ABC's "Modern Family" retained nearly all of its week-ago delivery with an original episode in Viewers (94% - 6.7 million vs. 7.1 million) and in Adults 18-49 (92% - 2.3/6 vs. 2.5/7). Against original competition, including CBS' "Grammy Nominations" and Fox's "Glee," the repeat ABC freshman comedy held the No. 2 position in the 9:00 p.m. half-hour in key Adult and Men demos: Adults 18-34 (1.9/5-tie), Men 18-34 (1.5/5-tie) and Men 25-54 (2.4/6).

"Cougar Town" (9:30-10:00 p.m.)Similarly to its lead-in, ABC's repeat "Cougar Town" held almost all of its week-earlier audience for an original telecast in Total Viewers (95% - 5.2 million vs. 5.5 million) and Adults 18-49 (95% - 1.8/5 vs. 1.9/6).

"Eastwick" (10:00-11:00 p.m.)Opposite competition from CBS' special original "Criminal Minds" in the 10 o'clock hour, ABC's "Eastwick" was up week to week by 17% in Total Viewers (4.2 million vs. 3.6 million) and by 18% in Adults 18-49 (1.3/4 vs. 1.1/3). The ABC freshman drama ranked No. 2 in the hour with Adults 18-34 (1.1/3-tie) and among key Women: W18-34 (1.6/5), W18-49 (1.7/5-tie) and W25-54 (2.1/5).

* "Eastwick" is seeing bumps from the first-reported numbers through DVR playback, averaging an additional 1.0 million viewers and a 4-tenths of an Adult 18-49 rating point increase from the initially reported Live + Same Day Numbers to the Live + 7 Day DVR finals.

A note about increasing DVR penetration and year-to-year rating comparisons: Year-to-year rating comparisons based on the Live + Same Day data stream are distorted by the level of DVR penetration in the Nielsen sample, which has jumped up to 33% currently, from 28% at the same point in 2008.

More viewers are watching shows on their own timetables, which may not be reflected in the overnight next day numbers. The only truly valid year-to-year comparison would be one based on the Live + 7 Day metric, once those stats are released by Nielsen.